The present invention relates generally to protective clothing for firefighters and, more particularly, to a bellows arrangement for the joint regions of firefighters apparel.
Firefighting is very physically demanding work which must be performed under stressful conditions even in the best of circumstances. It is essential for firefighters to wear clothing which protects them from the hazards of the fire environment, while still allowing freedom of movement, particularly in the elbow and knee joint regions. Firefighter apparel most often consists of a long-sleeved turnout coat and full length turnout pants made of layers including a flame and heat resistant layer, a moisture barrier layer, and a thermal barrier layer. The sleeves and pant legs of prior art turnout apparel provide excellent protection when firefighters are standing upright with their arms straight.
Many duties of a firefighter require flexion in the elbow and knee joint areas, however. Unfortunately, in prior art turnout apparel, tightness is produced across the outside of a joint when the joint is flexed. This tightness compresses the thermal liner and reduces the thermal protection of the clothing in the flexed region. Further, this tightness combined with the material bunching at the inside of the joint reduces the range of flexion of the joint. Additionally, the force required to bend the joint is increased, while complete flexion of the joint is impaired. Finally, there is a relatively high amount of cuff travel when joints are flexed, increasing the risk of exposure to fire hazards.
One method for decreasing tightness and bunching of material at the inside of the joint regions is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,646. The disclosed method involves providing thinner material at the joint flexion regions. However, providing thinner material necessarily decreases the thermal protection for the firefighter at his or her joint regions when the firefighter is in a variety of working positions, increasing the firefighter's risk of exposure to fire hazards.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved turnout apparel which facilitates joint flexion by substantially reducing the tightness on the outside of the flexed joint, compression of the thermal barrier, and the amount of sleeve and/or pant cuff travel, without decreasing the thermal protection provided to the firefighter at the joint regions. Improvements in the design of firefighter turnout apparel provide more comfort and permit freer mobility while requiring less work to bend joints, providing advances in the art and, more importantly, better protection for firefighters.